Dredger.



PATENTED MAR. 24,1903. R. A. PERRY.

DREDGER. APPLICATION FILED NOV.'21, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H0 MODEL I I I attozmqo PATBNTED MAR. 24, 1903. R. A. PERRY.

DREDGER.

APPLLGATION FILED NOV. 21, 1902.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

66? ko-amgp WW r Swvemtoz rm wan-s vrrzws c0 WHOYO-LIINCINWASNINEYO\. n c

0 OO O O l 0 N0 MODEL N m mm v mo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAYMOND A. PERRY, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

DREDG ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 723,485, dated March 24, 1903.

Application filed November 21, 1902. Serial No. 132,243. (No model.)

To rtZZ whom, it nutty concern.-

Be it known thatI, RAYMOND A. PERRY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Oakland, county of Alameda, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Dredgers; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to an apparatus for dredging material from beneath the water; and it consists in a means for advancing and fixing the apparatus at intervals, so that the excavating device can be made to work over a certain stated space while the apparatus remains stationary, and after this space has been cleared or completed the apparatus can Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanation of my invention, Figure 1 represents a dredge-boat embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is'an enlarged longitudinal sectional view, partly broken away, of a portion of the hull of the boat and showing my improvements. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of Fig. 2.

In dredging or excavating from beneath the surface of bodies of water it is customary to employ a floating hull upon which the machinery for driving the excavating apparatus is carried. These hulls are usually anchored and remain stationary while the excavating apparatus is made to do its work within the radius which can be reached from the boat or hull, and when this is completed the hull is again advanced and a new station taken. Thus if a channel is to be excavated or deepened the hull will be advanced after each portion of the work has been completed in advance, and so on until the full length of the work is finished.

It is the object of my invention to provide an improved means for advancing the hull from time to time.

As herein shown, A represents a part of the dredge-boat or hull, having a longitudinal channel 2 made within its body. This channel extends through from the deck to the bottom, being open at both top and bottom, and it is made of a length sufficient for the required successive advances of the boat and of a width sufficient to receive the spud or pile which is driven into the bottom and,

serves as a temporary point from which the advance is made and also a casing through which this spud or pile is movable.

As here shown, 3 is a spud. or pile vertically slid-able within the open channel2, so that it may be raised clear of the ground, or itmay be driven into the ground to form a temporary anchor or fixed point. This pile is preferably slidable within a casing 4, which has a length substantially equal to the depth of the slot from top to bottom. The casing may be maintained in a vertical posilion by guides at the top, as at 5, and, if desired, other guides, as 6, are made slidable upon tracks at the bottom. The upperguides are here shown as furnished with antifrictional rollers 7, which are adapted to travel between tracks 8, securely fixed upon the deck of the vessel. These tracks may be in the form of channel or I beams or in any other suitable or desired form. Upon one side of the casing is an attachment 9, to which is connected one end of a piston-rod 10, the piston 11 of which is slidable in a cylinder 12.

This cylinder has a length approximately equal to the length of the channel 2. The piston-rod is here shown as passing through a guiding-flange 13, fixed in Vtheeud of the timbers or planking surrounding the channel 2. Power may be applied, as by steam, compressed air, or other fluid under pressure, to act upon the piston within the cylinder.

Spuds or piles 14: are arranged to slide through suitable guides upon the boat, and

means such as derricks or'other lifting devices carried upon the boatsserve to raise any or all of these piles, as desired. The piles 14: are sunk into the bottom where the dredge is at work to hold the boat stationary, and when the boat is to be moved forward the pile 3 is driven down into the bottom through the channel 2, and thus becomes an anchor or fixture. The piles 14 are then raised from the bottom, so that the boat is free to move when power is applied to the piston 11 within the cylinder 12, and the piston-rod pressing against this stationary pile 3 it will be manifest that the boat will be forced forward any desired distance within the limit of the length of the cylinder and the channel within the boat. When the boat has been advanced to the desired point, the piles 14 can be again sunk into the bottom to hold the boat stationary and the pile 3 can be raised and moved forward to the front end of the channel 2, the guides of its casing acting to maintain it in its proper vertical position. \Vhen thus moved to the front end of the channel, it is in readiness to be again dropped for the application of the enginepower when it is desired to again move the boat forward.

I have here described a cylinder with piston and piston-rod for the application of a medium under pressure; but it will be understood that power may be equally Well applied by means of block and tackle and the rope or cable, one end of which is connected with the boat and the other with the pile or its casing, or by means of a winding-drum upon the boat and a cable with means for attaching it to the pile 3 after the latter has been sunk into its position.

Various other equivalent or well-known devices may be employed without materially altering the character of the invention, the essential feature of which is the elongated channel within the body of the boat, and through which channel the pile may be driven and form'a point about which the boat is movable.

By this construction I avoid the use of exterior fixtures and guides which have hitherto been placed along the sides of the boat and which are ordinarily very much in the way and which are liable to become cramped if the boat tilts from one side to the other by reason of the swinging of the Weight of the excavator to one side or the other.

Having thus described my invention, what ing open at both top and bottom, a spud or pile to be driven through said channel into the mud beneath the boat, and power devices connecting the boat with the fixed spud or pile whereby the boat may be advanced relative to the spud o'r pile.

2. In a dredge, a boat or hull having an elongated longitudinal channel open at the top and bottom, a vertically-disposed casing with guides upon which it is movable Within the channel, a spud or pile fitting said casing adapted to be driven into the mud be neath the boat, and a device by which the boat may be connected with the casing, and power applied to move the boat with relation to the pile and casing.

3. In a dredge, a boat having an elongated channel made between its sides and open at the top and bottom, a casin g fitting said channel, guides by which the casing is maintained vertical and upon which it is slidable from end to end of the channel, a pile fitting within the casing adapted to be driven into the mud beneath the boat, and a power-cylinder and piston or like device fixed to the boat and connection between said device and the pile-casing whereby the boat may be moved forward or back with relation to the pile.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

RAYMOND A. PERRY.

Witnesses:

FRANK VANATTA, S. H. NoURsE. 

